From Isolation to Innovation: Lessons in Collaborative STEM Education

🧪 Are you a STEM educator looking to foster collaboration in your teaching?Today on ⁠Science with Impact⁠, I speak to Drs. Claire Dancz, Bridget Trogden, Shannon Stefl, Karen High, and Abby Boyd to unpack the "sauce" of building transformative, interdisciplinary learning communities for postsecondary STEM faculty.

🤔 Who is this for?

STEM faculty, instructional designers, and academic leaders who want to break down silos, advance equity, and create lasting change in how science is taught and learned.

📋 What is it about?

Our guests, representing faculty, administration, educational development, and graduate student perspectives, share the lessons learned from designing and implementing a blended, online STEM learning community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they reveal the essential ingredients of impactful interdisciplinary collaboration:

* Centering diverse perspectives and flattening hierarchies,

* Embedding equity and universal design from the start,

* Modeling authentic, real-world learning and assessment,

* Practicing bidirectional mentorship across roles,

* Building flexibility and responsiveness into every stage.

They also discuss practical strategies for supporting faculty, incentivizing participation, and navigating the challenges of publishing practitioner-focused, cross-disciplinary work. The episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone seeking to amplify the societal impact of STEM education.

Teamwork, Trust & Transformation

A key takeaway from this CURIOUS Scientists episode: Lasting change in STEM teaching happens when we listen deeply, challenge traditional roles, and create space for everyone to lead and learn together.

⌚️ Time Stamps

00:00 Opener

00:52 Introduction and Guest Introductions

05:39 The Impact of Diverse Perspectives in STEM Education

06:32 Challenges and Innovations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

09:25 Mentorship and Interdisciplinary Collaboration

20:43 Equity and Access in Online Education

23:46 Designing Authentic and Meaningful Learning Experiences

28:41 Building Community and Peer Support in Education

32:37 High-Quality Online Teaching and Mentoring Practices

35:20 Building Flexibility in Course Design

35:38 Addressing Assessment Challenges

36:24 Creating Trust and Community

36:45 Teaching Online and Faculty Development

37:40 Implementation and Course Corrections

38:23 Participant Feedback and Flexibility

39:17 Relational Learning and Agency

41:33 Critical, Important, and Nice to Know

43:29 Magic Sauce of Collaboration

52:57 Practical Advice for Educators

01:01:15 Incentives and Timing for Faculty Participation

01:06:29 Publishing Practitioner-Focused Work

01:10:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

📣 Guests

* Shannon Stefl, Ph.D. | Associate Director, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University

* Claire L. A. Dancz, Ph.D. | Associate Director, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University

* Abby Boyd, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Mississippi

* Bridget Trogden, Ph.D. | Dean, Undergraduate Education & Academic Student Services, American University

* Kare